Chapter Thirty-Nine

Hobbs was at their favorite watering hole, in the same clothes he came to work in that morning. Sauer knew that he must have had a few already. He also knew that never interfered with his policing skills. So he sat next to Hobbs and ordered a drink.

“So, how’s Amy?”

“She’s well. Cooked me a nice meal.”

“And…”

“And none of your business.”

“Hmmm…so she is indeed special.”

“Shut up and drink.”

Just before midnight they got into the Turtle and drove to the streets of Hillbrow. The place was totally transformed. It was now vibrant with life. Colorful souls littered the streets. Prostitutes looked up in curiosity as the Turtle roared past. Drugged youngsters staggered across the roads without giving the Turtle a second glance. Sauer parked the Turtle half on the pavement again outside the Chinese shop. Three prostitutes immediately walked towards them. Hobbs ignored them and walked down the alley. Sauer leaned against the back of the cruiser and looked the three up and down with great interest. “Sorry ladies, but tonight is my night for boys. Perhaps some other time?” One of the whores walked over to him and slid a red condom into his shirt pocket. “Maybe later…” she cooed, trying her best to look as sexy as possible.

Sauer followed Hobbs down the alley. The doors of the Luscious Love Sex Shop were wide open. Loud music thumped from massive speakers attached to the ceiling. The floor was black and a red satiny fabric covered the walls. Red and yellow lights dimly lit the interior. Shelves loaded with porn videos covered the length of the one wall. There were videos for every taste and liking, every fetish, obsession and fixation.

When Sauer entered he saw that Hobbs was already at the counter talking to a scrawny Englishman. “Was this bought from your shop?” Hobbs handed him the vibrator they found in Charmaine Zeller’s belongings.

The scrawny Englishman looked at the vibrator. “May I see you identification cards,” correctly presuming that they were policemen.

Hobbs and Sauer produced their cards and the scrawny Englishman looked at them in detail.

“Yes,” he said, “this is one of our products.”

“I know it may be difficult, but can you remember who bought it?” Sauer asked.

He looked at the price label and typed something into a computer.

“It looks like one of the playthings Jimmy would have bought for one of his girls.”

The detectives were all ears now.

“Jimmy Love?” Sauer asked.

“Yes,” said the man without much interest.

“Dead Jimmy Love,” Sauer continued.

The scrawny Englishman looked up in shock. “What do you mean dead? He was in here just the other night.”

“Doing what?”

“Chatting to the new owner, Henry.”

“What did they talk about?”

“I don’t really know. Jimmy had the hots for Henry. But Henry is straight…and very good looking…but he was not interested. They, nevertheless, spoke for hours on end.”

Sauer looked at Hobbs.

“Where is Henry now?”

The Englishman looked up at them and assessed them for a long time. “I’ll go call him for you.”

He picked up a phone and said something softly into the receiver. Almost immediately, a door opened in the middle of the satin wall. A voluptuous black woman walked into the reception area. Soft droning music followed into the room. She walked past the detectives without looking up and stood behind the counter next to the Englishman.

“Wait here,” he said to Sauer and Hobbs, and walked towards the same satin-covered door.

Sauer looked at Hobbs and then at the woman behind the counter. She was clearly a sex worker.

“Why do you think he called her,” Sauer mocked.

“Maybe he was scared we would run off with a handful of porn videos.”

“Which one would you run off with?” Sauer asked Hobbs.

Hobbs lazily turned his back to the woman behind the counter and looked at the variety available.

“Definitely the one with the fat chick being harpooned by the black stud,” Hobbs said and laughed.

They stared at the videos waiting for the assistant to show up.

“Perhaps we should enter through the secret door and go find the assistant ourselves,” Sauer said out loud.

Just then, the satin door opened and the scrawny Englishman walked out followed by a tall man. The tall man was indeed very handsome with pitch-black hair, the palest blue eyes, broad shoulders and the gait of a super athlete. A nervous tingle ran through Sauer’s stomach. He trusted his instincts. People often laughed at him when he said that he could smell the culprits, like other people can smell fear or pedophiles. Sauer knew that this handsome man was involved. He just had to figure out how.

“Hi, I’m Henry,” he extended his hand towards Hobbs. His smile was broad and his teeth flawless. His handshake was firm and dry. His eyes stared straight into Sauer’s without a flinch or hint of guilt. Henry’s eyes were awake and aware of every movement, like a snake’s. Untouchable.

“Andrew tells me that you are here about Jimmy Love. He said that he died,” Henry continued. “That’s very sad. He was such a good customer.

“His throat was cut,” Sauer said nonchalant.

“When?”

“Two nights ago?”

“That’s terrible,” Henry exclaimed, “just too terrible for words. But I suspect in his line of business these things do tend to happen from time to time.”

Just like that, Sauer thought, no emotions—just a shrug and off we go on with our lives. Then again, live is cheap on the streets.

Sauer looked at Henry’s face intensely. The hairs on the back of his neck were rising fast. He’s acting. He knows more.

“Did you know him well?” Sauer asked.

“He came in here most evenings between clients.”

“When did you last see him?”

“On Friday night, early. Said he had a client at eleven. Bought K-Y Jelly, batteries and thumb cuffs.”

“His clients…did he have regulars or did he just cruise the streets in the hope of getting lucky?”

“His women were regulars,” Andrew chipped in.

Henry stopped abruptly and gave his assistant the death stare.

“Jimmy did women?” Sauer asked with mock amazement.

“He spoke of them sometimes…did them with vibrators.’ Henry was composed.

“And where do we find these women? Are they local? Nearby?”

“I don’t really know…”

“But you drove Jimmy to them,” Andrew said, too eager to answer.

Bingo!

Henry’s head yanked up.

Sauer continued to watch the younger man. Then, very uncharacteristic of him, he put his arm on Henry’s shoulder. “It must have been a severe blow for you to find out about Jimmy like this.” Henry shrugged his shoulders. He tried to get the big detective’s arms off him.

Hobbs frowned for a second, but knew immediately what Sauer was doing. Henry nodded his head in sympathy. “Yes, sometimes our clients almost become friends.”

“You don’t perhaps have the names of his clients?” Sauer probed the subject again.

“No…I know he had a BlackBerry…and that he picked up his clients from the streets.” Henry thought for a moment. “He was not one of the high class earners.”

Sauer patted Henry on the back.

“Look I am going to leave my card with you. If you think of something, please give me a call.” Sauer tried to shove his card into Henry’s hand.

“Sure, just leave your card with Andrew.” Although he always wore gloves, he was petrified of prints. One can accidently leave them anywhere.

“Hope to hear from you soon,” Sauer said as he placed the card on the counter in front of the scrawny Englishman Andrew, who realized his job at Luscious Love Sex Shop was over. Maybe even his life.